Is it going to freeze this weekend?

Temperatures today are going to be quite pleasant, climbing to just above 70 degrees for much of the area.

And then the party ends. A succession of cold fronts are going to keep things quite cold for the rest of the week, especially this weekend.

How cold? That’s the key question, isn’t it.

Saturday will be the coldest day, as a blustery front blows into Houston and keeps temperatures in the 50s. With the winds, it will feel like the 40s out there during the day. And Saturday night into Sunday morning will be the coldest the city has seen since mid-January.

In its latest run the European forecast model predicts a freeze for early Sunday for much of the area, including coastal regions that have yet to fall to 32 degrees or below this season:

Sunday morning's forecast lows. (Weather Bell)

The Global Forecast System model is quite a bit warmer, calling for temperatures about 8 to 10 degrees warmer:

Global Forecast System lows for Sunday. (Weather Bell)

For now the National Weather Service is forecasting a low of 36 degrees at Hobby Airport, and a low of 33 degrees at Bush Intercontinental Airport on Sunday morning.

Given the spread in the models I’d say there’s a lot of room for adjustment in the forecast. A good rule of thumb is probably this: There’s a good chance of a freeze on Sunday morning for areas north of downtown Houston, and while it’s possible temperatures will freeze between downtown and the coast, it’s not likely.

You can always tell who are the long time residents in Houston and who aren’t. The old timers know that there’s always a February Surprise…either freeze or light rare snow. Newcomers, even just 5 or 8 years here, think that when it warms up for the 2 or 3 weeks in February and even grass starts to grow and flowers pop out…that summer is already here. It’s not. The biggest snow Houston ever got (almost two feet downtown) was in February.

Wow this is unpleasant and perhaps will kill lots of the plants that have come to life and been planted outside. And the weekend will be ruined with this cold. Of course though there is always a cold snap or two in March or April before the warm weather starts, but I wish it could be 97 and dry year round. If Houston could turn into a coastal desert that would be ideal because coastal deserts are such a rare ecosystem that everyone would want to visit and study Houston.

That was the funniest response I’ve read in a long time.
I never tire of the Katy jokes. It’ll be even more funny when they are REALLY asking during a REAL situation, and we’ll still be laughing at Katy-ans.

This is not going to be a bad freeze.
Cover your garden in plastic and put a 5 gallon can of water
every 10 feet. The plastic will keep the air from moving
and the water will radiate heat
and keep your plants from freezing.

I never plant anything new until after Easter. Last bit of cold before Easter. After Easter we are pretty much safe from the cold and light freezes. Old wives tale my uncle said. it pretty much holds true even today.

I tie all this bad ,rainy, stormy ice and snow blizzards to the melting of GREENLAND’S ICE CAP. You can see (on the Google map), the masses of clouds evaporating and drifting south-southwest from the island, and turning into a lot of the miserable weather we’ve been having since the SANDY STORMS in the northeast. Am I far off the mark? BYE

My grass & weeds have turned a healthy green and I’m seeing some buds on the tree limbs. Taken with your guess a couple of weeks ago that we’d seen the last freeze of the season, I’m gonna count on not hitting 32* this weekend. Wish I knew where a mesquite lived to verify this.

hi eric, what’s up with this wind? i was born and raised in houston, and now live in cypress. we are getting blown out!! i don’t remember it being windy like this growing up. we live in an open area now. is that it? thank you for your time!!